At the heart of recruiting and retaining good volunteers is recognizing and thanking them for their service. In their book The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner postulate that there are five practices that separate effective leaders from those less effective. One of the five practices is encouraging the heart. To follow up with this important practice they wrote another book, titled Encouraging the Heart, to focus on this aspect of leadership. In this book they outline some powerful examples of how leaders can get extraordinary outcomes from ordinary members through encouragement. Over the years the authors have found that this one practice is the key to getting organization members to perform at higher levels. So much so, that in their latest revision of the five practices, they ranked encouraging the heart as the number one practice.

As those advising fraternities and sororities, whether as a campus-based advisor, an (inter)national headquarters staff member, a chapter advisor or another role, we work daily with volunteers. How we encourage and reward them speaks volumes as to how we value them and to their effectiveness.

We sometimes think that encouragement is an expensive venture, but often times it is the small things that make a big difference. A thank you note, a nice email, or an e-card, can let your volunteers know that you appreciate their work. In a recent survey of employees, believing in what the organization is about and receiving good feedback outranked salary. That is why some people sacrifice salary for job satisfaction.

As a campus-based advisor, I think of my chapter presidents as volunteers. In nearly all cases they are not compensated for what is arguably the toughest leadership job on the college campus today. They put in many long hours; being the first to arrive and the last to leave. And they take phone calls in the early hours when there are problems. These student leaders work hard and should be recognized for their good work. Little things like taking them to lunch, sending them a note, or just a call to say that you appreciate their work, all go a long way to getting them to go that extra mile to improve the undergraduate experience for their members.

As a chapter advisor and alumni board member, I try to create an atmosphere of encouragement by examining how my chapter rewards its members for achieving our founding principles such a scholarship, service and leadership. We try to create a chapter where good members are rewarded and that attracts even better future members.

As an association, we hope we continually recognize our many volunteers for their good work. We would not be the association for those advising fraternities and sororities, at all levels, without our volunteers. The individuals who contribute their time and talent make AFA successful beyond even our wildest dreams, for which we are very grateful.

As you work with your volunteers, remember to encourage them to do their best. As you do, continually ask yourself, “Have I ever been thanked too much?” Be the leader who can say that you do thank too much.

References:

Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. (2003). The leadership challenge (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. (2003). Encouraging the heart: A leader's guide to rewarding and recognizing others. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.